The value in consumer goods lies in what they can do for us. The benefits appear straightforward when considering gasoline cars. They transport us in comfort from Point A to Point B, but then they become an obligation because we have to park them somewhere. However, there’s more to electric cars than just that, as Vox explained on January 8, 2022.
Because Electric Cars Are Also Portable Batteries
There’s no consumer value in the gasoline of combustion cars when they’re standing idle. However, the energy in electric car batteries is versatile, because we connect them to a grid when we recharge them.
If we got it right as a nation, we could use our electric cars to stabilize that grid when they were standing idle. And this could in turn make wind and solar power more feasible as base load. There’s definitely more to electric cars than four wheels!
However, this is going to require a paradigm shift in the mind of the population. That’s because personal transport flies in the face of collective benefit. How do we get around a situation where just over half North Americans oppose phasing out gasoline?
How Do We Persuade Drivers There’s More to Electric Cars?
The value in consumer goods lies in what they do for us. Therefore, we need to start seeing electric cars as a way around blackouts. If consumers saw them as emergency power to light up their homes during grid failures, that would be a good start.
However, we need to take if further than just that! We need to imagine millions of electric cars connected to the grid when parked. They could charge their batteries when grid demand was low. But they could also help stabilize it during peak, and earn their owners income to help pay for recharging.
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